Ice hockey skates today generally comprise a sharpened metal blade or runner fastened to a holder, which is in turn fastened to a skate boot. Figure skates generally comprise a sharpened metal blade brazed to a holder portion that is then fastened to a skate boot. When the blade of a skate becomes dull, the surface of the blade that contacts the ice surface is re-sharpened to provide a hollow between a set of opposed inner and outer edges. This configuration allows a skater to move and manoeuvre on the ice. Each time the blade is sharpened, metal is physically removed from the blade; each time metal is removed from the blade during a sharpening, the balance and feel of the skate may change, because the separation between the bottom edge of the holder and the ice (which is simply determined by the amount of blade that is still exposed at the bottom of the holder) is different than it was before the blade was sharpened. Over time the skate will eventually run out of blade, necessitating replacement of the blade holder or, more often, the entire skate.
Occasionally a blade will break, for example under the impact of a puck or contact with another object on the blade, which also necessitates replacement of the blade. If the skate boot is in otherwise good condition, a new blade may be provided for the same boot, but because the blade is generally not intended to be separated from its holder, it is necessary to replace the entire holder as well as the blade.
Current methods of skate sharpening also generally require that the skate be removed from a wearer's foot. If a skater notices that a blade has become dull while he or she is on the ice, it is generally necessary to remove the skate, take it to a skate sharpening machine, sharpen the blade, and replace the skate on the skater's foot before returning to the ice. During a hockey game or a figure skating competition, for example, this may be an unacceptable amount of time to be away from the ice. If there is no skate sharpener readily available, the time away from the ice is necessarily increased. The alternative is to skate on dull blades, which adversely affects the skater's mobility and ability to perform necessary manoeuvres.
In some circumstances, a skater may simply wish to use a blade with different characteristics, for example to respond to different ice conditions. It is often easier to manoeuvre on softer ice using a blade with a particular hollow radius, while a deeper hollow would perform best on harder ice. However, the ice conditions may not be known until the skater has put on the skates and taken a few moments to skate around the ice. Occasionally, the ice conditions vary during the course of a game; for example, temperature changes because of the presence of spectators can change the ice temperature and condition over time. In this situation, even if a different pair of skates is available, it is often inconvenient to return to the dressing room to change into that other pair of skates.
It is therefore preferable to be able to replace a dull blade or to simply replace an unsatisfactory blade without having to remove the skate boot from a skater's foot. There exist several examples of removable blade systems, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,241 to Chenevert and U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,033 to Nicoletti et al, which disclose a skate blade that may be removed from a skate by removal of one or more threaded fasteners, and replaced with a new blade that is then secured with those fasteners.
It is noted that such systems require the user to carry one or more replacement blades, and possibly the proper tools to effect a blade change. In such cases, it is necessary either to carry the replacement blade(s) and the tools, if needed, to the ice, or to return to the dressing room to access the necessary blade and equipment. It is therefore also preferable to minimize the number of replacement blades that a skater has to carry at one time, as well as to increase the accessibility of the blades to a skater while he is on the ice. One way to accomplish the former is to provide a single skate blade that is reversible; that is a single blade that has two opposed ice-contacting surfaces, either of which may be used to skate on. Such reversible blades are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,591,778 to Radus and U.S. Pat. No.2,242,870 to Prosey. These two patents disclose similar I-shaped double-edged blades having longitudinal grooves between the ice contacting surfaces of the blades. The longitudinal grooves are the means by which the blades are clasped between opposed arms depending from the blade holder, and fastened thereto.
However, the presence of a substantially thinned area along the central length of the blade may tend to destabilize the blade under the lateral torque forces typically created during the skating stride and when performing other manoeuvres. It is therefore preferable to provide a blade having a substantially uniform thickness between the two ice-contacting surfaces. U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2008/0290619 to Leo discloses a reversible blade having a figure skate configuration on one edge and a hockey skate blade configuration on the opposite edge. U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,924 to Dahlo et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,835 to Lyden disclose nearly elliptical blades without longitudinal grooves. Fastener openings are provided to secure the blade within the blade holder. Where necessary, the blade may be made lighter, without sacrificing stability, by providing one or more apertures through the blade.
As noted above, a second purpose of using replaceable, reversible skate blades is to minimize the need for tools to actually make the replacement. Each of the previously mentioned patents uses threaded screws or bolts that may be finger-tightened, but would likely preferably require a screwdriver or similar tool to provide sufficient assurance that the blade is securely attached to the blade holder.
Some examples of patents disclosing replaceable skate blades which do not require the use of tools include U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,664 to DeMars and U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,169 to Bekessy. However, the systems disclosed in these patents are relatively complex and contain a number of moving parts embedded within the blade holder. In addition to adding undesirable weight to the skate, these assemblies may be susceptible to damage, for example under a blow to the blade holder from a puck or simply from being dropped on the ground. U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,369 to Rebicek discloses a relatively simple replaceable blade, but given that the blade is secured only at the toe end, this arrangement may not have the same ability to secure the blade as other systems.
Another consideration when changing skates blades is that the holder (generally made of polymeric material) and the blade (generally metallic) will have different thermal expansion properties, such that temperature fluctuations may cause a blade that fits securely to the holder in one orientation to not fit properly or at all after the blade is removed from the holder in preparation for reversal. Using metallic fasteners can also cause problems; even if the fasteners are securely attached to the blade and holder while the skater is off the ice attaching the blade (and the blade and blade holder are warm), the blade may become loose once the skater returns to the ice and the temperature of the entire assembly decreases.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide double-edged blade assembly for a skate that overcomes the foregoing deficiencies.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a holder for a double-edged skate blade skate blade assembly that is strong, secure and supportive.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a holder for a double-edged skate blade skate blade assembly that allows the skate blade to be quickly and easily removed, reversed and/or replaced.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a double-edged skate blade assembly having replaceable supports on either side of a skate blade to allow fast and secure removal and installation of the blade without having to remove the skate from the foot.
These and other objects of the invention will be appreciated by reference to the summary of the invention and to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follow. It will be noted that not all objects of the invention are necessarily realized in all possible embodiments of the invention as defined by each claim.